To Kill A King
by TheGildedAge
Summary: The Straw Hats arrive in the New World and are joined by a strange man who is tasked by Luffy's father with defeating a member of the World Government known as Titan King. Though willing to help, the crew will soon learn that the New World is by no means to be taken lightly. Lowered rating.
1. Tusk Town

**So, first chapter of this story. Hopefully it isn't too terribly long. As this is my first story on here, feedback is always welcome! Enjoy.**

**Also, I should mention...this story takes place after Fishman Island, but diverges from there in the sense that the Straw Hats followed a different path rather than stopping at Punk Hazard.**

**Now enjoy. **

SOMEWHERE IN THE GRAND LINE

"The key players are beginning to make their move," Monkey D. Dragon turned away from the sea and faced the man that was leaning against the mast of the ship, "soon enough this era will come to a end."

The man looked up from his hat and grinned. "And you, Dragon, will you be making your move?"

"Soon enough," he said, now looking stern, "until I do, it is time for you to reveal yourself, Phoenix, I have an important job for you. Do you know the man Titan King?."

"Of course! He's a high ranking member of the World Government, but he's never posed a serious threat," Phoenix said.

"He is now. He's over stepped his bounds and has taken control of a chain of islands in the New World, working most of the inhabitants like slaves and imposing ridiculous laws."

"And so you want me to kill him?"

"Yes, Titan King needs to be disposed of," Dragon began to smile. "I've heard my son is in the nearby area. You ought to have him help you."

"And if he doesn't want to help? He's a stubborn boy after all," Phoenix said.

"True as that may be, once he hears my name his demeanor will change. He will not understand it now, but it is crucial that he helps you and that you be present for this leg of his journey." Dragon explained. "I will contact you when the time is right. Until then we will not speak."

"Understood," Phoenix said.

Dragon made to depart the ship, but as he did he stopped and turned to Phoenix one last time. "Oh, and Phoenix, tell my son I'll see him soon."

ONE WEEK LATER

AN ISLAND IN THE NEW WORLD; TUSK TOWN

The shop-keep was almost in a panic at this point. "Miss, you do have enough money for all this, right?"

Nami, looking down at the counter, presumably analyzing the situation, flipped her hair aside. "I've told you, if you give me all of this at a 55 percent discount, I'll have more than enough!"

"Miss, I've told you I'm not authorized to give discounts!" the shop-keep said.

Nami placed another pile of clothes on the counter and was now unable to see the shop-keep. She parted the clothes with her hands and peered through so the shop-keep could only see her eyes. "Mr. Shop-keep, I have about 30 percent of the contents of the store on your counter. That must warrant some sort of discount. Let's say 70 percent!"

The shop-keep began to get red in frustration, "Where are you getting these numbers from?!"

As Nami began to add more clothes to the pile she ducked down suddenly as the door to the shop burst open and flew off it's hinges, knocking over the entire pile of clothes and hitting the shopkeeper, sending him flying into the wall behind him. Nami shot up and twisted around, Clima Tact already in hand, "What in the hell is the big idea?!"

The first thing she saw was the ashes fall from the cigarette that was hanging out of his mouth. The second was him spinning into the shop ecstatically shouting "NAMI - SWAN".

"You had to make such an entrance, Sanji?" she said, putting away her weapon.

"Nami, it's time to go," Sanji said, with a rather serious look, "our captain has done something stupid again."

Nami let out a sigh, one she's now used to doing more often than she'd like.

"Shit."

TUSK TOWN; PLAZA

"Listen, idiot! If you keep damaging the tusks, the whole town will sink!"

Luffy drew his fist back to hit the bounty hunter again, "Why would you build an entire town on tusks?!"

"I didn't build it!" the bounty hunter shouted, bracing himself to be hit again, which he was, and was slammed further into the cracked elephant tusk.

"Why are there no elephants to eat?!" Luffy hit him again.

"Is this really your problem with me?" the bounty hunter cried.

"No!" Luffy shouted, "you tried to kill me!"

"I'm just following orders!"

"You knocked over my food!" Luffy hit him in the stomach.

"I'm sorry!"

"No elephants!" Luffy hit him once more in the jaw and the bounty hunter lost several teeth. At this point the giant tusk was almost cracked through to the other side.

TUSK TOWN; A BAR

The bartender slid another mug across the bar to Zoro, who downed it almost immediately.

"Another," he slid the mug back to the bartender.

"Zoro," Robin sipped her drink politely, "perhaps you should slow down."

"If I slow down I won't be drunk before we leave! Another!" Zoro shouted.

Robin turned her attention to the bartender. "Mr. Bartender, how was this town built? I've seen strange island formations but this by far is one of the strangest."

The bartender smiled at the opportunity to ignore Zoro, "Well as I'm sure you can tell, this island was by no means formed naturally! The legend we all heard as kids was that a giant from Elbaf was stranded at sea and to make it home he killed sea elephants while floating in the water, took their tusks and tied them together to make a raft."

"If he made a raft of the tusks why's it still here?" Zoro said, his face was beginning to become flushed from the alcohol.

"Well that's part of the legend. No one really knows. Some say he died before he was able to take off, others say that a ship from Elbaf found him and took him home. Regardless of what really happened, eventually the founders of the island came by on a ship, tied large anchors to the tusks, and laid down the foundation over the tusks, then built the town from there."

"Interesting," Robin stirred her drink, "quite a story."

"May I asked why you wanted to know, young lady?" the bartender asked.

"Just interested in history is all," she smiled.

Zoro put his mug down and cocked his head. "Anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what? I think you've had about enough sir," the bartender said quickly.

Zoro held up a hand to silence him and waited a few seconds. The smash he'd heard before happened again and this time was not only heard by all, but shook the bar itself.

"What was that?" Robin said, not particularly startled.

"I'm not sure what it could be," the bartender pulled himself up, as he'd fallen when the bar shook, "this town is usually incredibly quiet!"

Zoro grinned, "Then I think I have an idea of what's going on..."

TUSK TOWN; PLAZA

"Shit!" Tusk Town's mayor came out of the crowd of people that surrounded Luffy. "If that tusk breaks these buildings on it will fall! Boy! What is your problem?!" the mayor pointed at Luffy, who dusted himself off.

"Well why have people been trying to kill me since I got here?!" Luffy cooked back his arm, ready to unleash an attack on the mayor.

"Look here kid, I dunno about the others but that man you just beat up isn't a citizen of this town," the mayor said.

"Oh, okay," Luffy said, "then I guess it's okay." Luffy adjusted his hat and began to walk toward the crowd, which began to part as he came. The whispers of the crowd stopped as a man that towered over Luffy and donned a black trench coat stepped in front of him.

"That man you smashed into that tusk is a member of my group," he said.

"Is that so?" Luffy stopped, "are you a pirate?"

"The exact opposite, I'm the leader of a group of pirate hunters."

"Oh," Luffy side stepped the man, then held out his arm to stop him.

"I'm here to collect your bounty, Straw Hat Luffy," the man said.

Luffy stopped dead in his tracks. He saw Nami, Sanji, Zoro, and Robin push through the crowd of people.

"You can try," Nami said, drawing her Clima Tact.

"Oi, guys! Where have you been?" Luffy waved.

"You can't just go out by yourself," Sanji said.

"Who are you people, now?!" the mayor squeezed between the group, looking up at them all, as he was a considerably small man.

They all pointed at Luffy, "Part of his crew."

"Sorry, he gets into trouble when we let him go off by himself," Nami said with an awkward smile.

"We're really not bad people," Robin chuckled as Zoro tried to stifle a laugh.

"As true as I'm sure that is, can this altercation be brought elsewhere? The safety of the town and townsf-"

There was a hole in the ground where Luffy had been standing just a second ago, and dust was rising into the sky in plumes. The entire town performed, incredibly, as it seemed to the crew, a synchronized 'gasp' when the dust settled and Luffy was buried beneath dirt and parts of broken elephant tusk. None of the crew members made a move toward the bounty hunter. None of them even flinched.

Luffy stood up and dusted himself off for the second time today. Another synchronized gasp from the town came about when they could see that Luffy had no visible injuries. The bounty hunter was holding a gleaming, silver war hammer above his head, making ready to bring it down on Luffy again, except this time when he did, Luffy held up his hand to stop it. The bounty hunter looked Luffy in the eyes with what was likely fear. "That was a powerful hit, even without Haki," Luffy said.

"I don't understand," the bounty hunter tried to jerk his war hammer away from Luffy's grasp, "how aren't you dead?"

Luffy smiled, "Because I'm made of rubber," Luffy cranked back his arm and balled his fist. "Gum Gum..." Luffy's fist connected with the bounty hunter's stomach. "Bullet!" Luffy retracted his fist and by the time he did the bounty hunter was already mid flight and was, soon enough, a speck in the sky. Luffy made his way over to his crew members.

"Sorry guys, I tried to stay out of trouble," Luffy said.

Nami swatted his head with her Clima Tact, "A feat you've ever yet to accomplish." Luffy began to laugh and as did the rest of them. The townsfolk looked on in awe.

"This is of course all well and good," the mayor said, "but what about all the damage you caused my town!?"

"Well," Nami smiled and leaned in toward the mayor, "we don't exactly have much money so we can't pay you anything. Could you ever just forgive us?"

"AS IF WE COULD SO EASILY!" he shouted, standing up on the tips of his toes to reach her height. "Look at the falling houses! All because the tusks and platforms were destroyed!"

The crew looked around at the damage Luffy had caused. The mayor wasn't kidding. Several houses were in shambles, filling in the cracks of the platform with parts of doors and tiles and broken bricks. None of the tusks were broken all the way through, but likely would be eventually if left unrepaired.

"Don't worry," Luffy said.

"Our shipwright can fix anything," Sanji took a drag of his cigarette.

"I'm sure this will be easy enough," Robin smiled.

Nami's demeanor changed, "What kind of people do you think we are?"

"Pirates!" The entire town said in unison.

"The good kind!" Luffy shouted.

Shortly after Franky made repairs to the island and rebuilt several houses (which naturally didn't take very long at all) the entire mood of the town changed. The next couple days the town and the Straw Hat crew engaged in wild parties. Before the Log Pose set and the Straw Hats departed, Franky had to fix at least two more houses.

OFF THE SHORE OF TUSK TOWN

When the Strawhats reached the Thousand Sunny, a ship of much larger size was docked in front of theirs, blocking their ability to leave. They all stopped dead in their tracks.

"It could be a trap," Usopp cautioned. Before anyone else could get a word in, Luffy had outstretched his arm and wrapped it around the mast of the Sunny and launched himself toward it.

"OI!" Luffy shouted, hanging from the mast of the Sunny, "Is anyone on that ship? It's in our way and we're ready to leave!"

"JUST A SECOND!" A voice came loudly from the other ship, likely amplified by a Den Den Mushi. "SHIT! THEY'RE BACK SO SOON I DON'T HAVE MY SPEECH PREPARED. KANAH, WHERE'S MY HAT?!"

"You've been wearing it, Mr. Hunter, sir," A female voice responded.

"WELL OF COURSE I HAVE, WHAT A RIDICULOUS NOTION THAT IT WOULD BE

ANYWHERE ELSE!"

"Yes, sir," the female voice said, "Also, sir, your finger is still on the Den Den Mushi."

"SHIT WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING EARLIER?!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hunter, sir,"

"OF COURSE, KANAH, I COULD NEVER STAY MAD AT YOU!"

"Thank you sir, but you still haven't moved your finger."

The rest of the Straw Hat crew, much less intimidated now, was on board the Sunny, standing around on the deck waiting for the voices coming from the other ship to reveal themselves. The door of what they assumed was the captain's room burst open and a cloaked figure with a large brimmed hat emerged from the door.

"Allow me to introduce myself, and I shall explain why my ship is blocking your path!" the man said. "My name is Hunter Phoenix!"


	2. Hunter Phoenix

**Back to back chapters for my first day here. Mostly because I'm not sure when chapter III will be ready.**

ONBOARD THE THOUSAND SUNNY

Nami shuffled through her stack of wanted posters that she kept on her. "Hunter Phoenix...I know I've heard that name before," Nami began to toss posters on the deck of the Sunny, "H...H..Hiziru...Hondo...Hunter, bounty of...650,000,000?! How does it even get that high?!"

"Kiahahahaha! Is that all it is?" Phoenix said, trying to sound unimpressed. He stepped forward, revealing himself to be about the same height and build as Zoro, though is jaw was more square and his hair brown with a streak of gray down one side.

"With a bounty that high..." Luffy began.

"He must be incredibly strong," Zoro put a hand on one of his swords.

"Whoa whoa! Kiahahaha! I'm not here for a fight! Though of course I'm certain it would be a great spectacle!" Phoenix said this as he hopped from his ship to the deck of the Thousand Sunny. "Kanah and I have come to accompany you and your crew for a short time!" Phoenix made to put his arm around Kanah's shoulder, but there was nothing but air next to him.

"I think he left his friend behind," Usopp leaned over and whispered to Chopper.

"He seems like a very confused person," Chipper whispered back.

"It's a strange life I lead," Phoenix said, as both Chopper's and Usopp's jaws dropped when they noticed Phoenix had joined their whispering.

"Anyways," Nami said, "what makes you think you can just join us?"

"Oh, right," Phoenix said, "Luffy, I'm supposed to tell you that your father sent me."

"Dad sent you? Then I suppose you're okay." Luffy said.

Nami hit Luffy on the head, leaving a bump there, "How can you just believe him like that?"

Luffy began to laugh, "Come on, Nami, he doesn't seem like a bad guy! He's kinda funny! Hey old man, you can come join us. Your invisible friend too!"

"Ah that reminds me" Phoenix turned towards his ship, "Oi, Kanah, why aren't you out here with me?!" A very short and timid looking brunette girl appeared in the door way that Phoenix had emerged from earlier. She was very skinny and wore a simple white sun dress that hugged her body. Sanji was the first to notice her and he began to leap into the air toward her before both Chopper and Usopp grabbed his legs and dragged him back to the deck of the Sunny and before he could get up again to lunge toward her, both of them pummeled Sanji over the head until he slumped over muttering to himself about beautiful women.

"Sorry, Mr. Hunter, sir," she began quietly, "you didn't tell me to come with."

Phoenix took off his hat and scratched the back of his head. "Did I not? I thought I did. Perhaps I did not."

"It's okay, sir," Kanah was now at his side. She looked at Luffy and said to him quietly, "Also, Mr. Monkey, sir, I'm not invisible."

"That's right! " Phoenix put his arm around Kanah, with her actually there this time, "Kanah here is just very quiet. Anyways, Luffy, I've known your father since before you were born. In fact, him and I met when we were just children and years later I joined his Revolutionary Army. I met you once when you were a boy as well, but it's likely you don't remember me, kiahahaha!"

"Nope, I don't recognize you at all. But, I see, so you work for my dad," Luffy said.

"I prefer to see it as I work _with_ him," Phoenix said, "I guess this kind of makes me your uncle, in a sort of way, having known both him and you for so long!"

"I don't see how that makes any sense," Nami said.

"Well, they seem to act a lot alike," Brook pointed out.

"It's because I'm his uncle," Phoenix interjected into their conversation. Nami struck him on the head and Phoenix backed away to where he'd been standing before, now bruised.

"I've never had an uncle before," Luffy said.

"Technically you still don't," Usopp said with a wave of his hand.

"But who cares about any of that!" Phoenix shouted, putting his hat back on, "I say it's about time we leave this place, and I have a talk with your captain! Kanah, tell the crew of the ship that they may return to Dragon, grab what you need from the ship, and join me back here!" Kanah left to gather the things she thought they'd need from the Revolutionary ship before it departed and left them with what she considered to be people that were even stranger than Phoenix. She had no idea.

"That's all fine that you both come with and everything," Luffy began, sitting down on the deck and leaning his back against the mast, tipping the brim of his hat to block the sun from his eyes, "but anything you have to say to me, you can say to my entire crew."

"That's right," Zoro said, "we don't keep secrets on this ship."

"Luffy would just end up telling us all anyways," Nami shrugged, "he doesn't follow the idea of keeping a secret."

"I see," Phoenix said, sitting down in front of Luffy with a serious look on his face, "if that's how it is...then I suppose...things will work just fine."

It was beginning to get dark and the rest of the crew sat down around Luffy, who introduced the members of the crew while Sanji and Chopper went into the kitchen to fetch sake for the group. By the time they came back, Kanah had rejoined them. Sanji, of course, spun around the entire crew, making it a point to serve Kanah first whilst fawning over her beauty. Kanah was quickly saved by Robin when she called Sanji over to her for a drink. Nami leaned over to Kanah and told her that eventually she'd learn to deal with Sanji but until that time, her and Robin would help fend him off.

"Now that we are properly settled," Phoenix said, "we should get to business, and I will tell you my purpose here." Phoenix took a drink from his bottle of sake, leaned back, and passed out.

"Did he just..." Franky began slowly.

"I think so..." Usopp said.

"PASS OUT FROM ONE SIP?!" The crew shouted.

Kanah chuckled, taking a drink, "Mr. Hunter is a bit of a lightweight, but he bounces back quickly," as she said this, Phoenix was coming too, and rubbed his eyes, "see?"

"Now where was I?" Phoenix said, his demeanor serious.

"HOW CAN YOU ACT LIKE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN?!" The crew said.

"Luffy, as I'm sure you've already heard, the New World is an incredibly dangerous place, a place where all of the key players of this era are beginning to make their move," Phoenix said.

"I remember hearing something...about danger," Luffy said, attempting to recall what Jinbe had told him before they left Fishman Island.

"Indeed, the New World _is_ dangerous..." Phoenix said. Silence followed this statement.

"Is that all?" Nami said.

"Not by a longshot." Phoenix continued. "A cluster of the islands after this one are now considered to be the territory of a very dangerous member of the World Government. He has all but enslaved every member of these islands and has amassed many followers. Your father has tasked me with his defeat, and suggested that due to King's strength and influence, that I ask you to assist me."

"I'm not sure I follow yet, what does this have to do with us?" Zoro said, already on his eighth bottle of sake.

"Well, its inevitable that they notice us. We can't just bypass these islands, so its likely that your crew and Titan King will clash. Dragon and I both agree that King must be stopped, but he fights a different battle as we speak, and since the Marines will not make a move on a man such as King, and no pirate has moved to stop him properly, it is left up to us, Luffy."

"How do we find this bastard?" Luffy said. The rest of the crew was surprised that Luffy was able to pay attention this long.

"You said he claimed a cluster of islands. He could be on any one," Robin said.

"We will have to gather that information as we go," Phoenix replied. "What do you say, Monkey D. Luffy, will you assist me in my quest?"

There was silence for a moment. The crew took their time to ponder it over. Getting involved in something so large would bring them more trouble, but then again,when weren't they in trouble?

"What do you think, Luffy?" Nami asked, and everyone looked to the captain.

"He called it a quest, Luffy won't say no now," Usopp whispered to her.

"Well, if it's a favor for my dad..." the crew held their breath because they knew what was coming. Luffy has said it so many times before that they just learned to roll with it. "Let's go kick this King guy's ass."

"That settles it!" Phoenix stood up and raised his sake cup, "we set sail in the morning! KANPAI!" The rest of the crew raised their drinks and clanked them together and took a drink. Once the alcohol touched his lips, Phoenix immediately passed out. Eventually, the crew all went to bed, eager to depart on their next adventure.


	3. No Place Safe

THOUSAND SUNNY - OFFSHORE OF THE ISLAND SILVER HILL

"It's strange," Nami looked at her Log Pose, "you'd think that an island under the control of King would have the needle spinning out of control. But it's moving the least of the three."

"I say we go to that one next," Luffy leaned over her shoulder and pointed at the needle that was shaking uncontrollably.

"Oi, Luffy, we should make it a point to stay away from those islands," Usopp said.

"But what if this island is boring?" Luffy whined.

"It doesn't matter," Nami pushed Luffy's head away, "we didn't get supplies on the last island, so we need to get them here."

"And we need information about which island Titan King is currently on," Phoenix added. He picked up the katana that he used and tucked it into the sash around his waist and a large rectangular "tower" shield that he fastened to his back.

"A katana and a shield?" Zoro questioned.

"I seldom have use for my sword. Most enemies can't stand up against my skills with a blade, so it makes fights boring," Phoenix said. "I carry it just in case."

"So you fight with..."

"Yes, a shield,"

Zoro grinned, "I'd like to fight you, with your katana someday."

"Perhaps, but today is not that day," Phoenix said.

"We ought to select two landing parties," Nami said, "Phoenix, you'll head the first one and gather information. Robin I think you should accompany him, Kanah, of course. The supply crew will be Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, and myself. "

"I knew you'd select me Nami-chan!" Sanji hung on her shoulder.

"Shit up you idiot," Nami knocked him on the head, "I only need you guys to carry all of the stuff."

"One day, Nami-chan, I'll do so much for you that you'll have to love me!"

"Not likely..." Usopp and Franky said to each other.

"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy shouted, flinging himself off the ship and onto the shore.

"Luffy! Wait for us!" Nami shouted after him. The rest of the supply party leapt off the ship and ran after Luffy who was already far ahead of them.

"You'll be okay staying here?" Phoenix said to the remainder of the crew.

"It's generally what we do," Chopper said.

"It's also the safest job," Usopp said.

"Someone has to watch the ship, yohohoho!" Brook laughed

.

"Fair enough," Phoenix said, "Robin, Kanah, let us depart!"

SILVER HILL SHOPPING DISTRICT

"Okay, Sanji," Nami handed him a bag with a beri sign on it, "this should be enough for any food we need. Make sure that's all you spend it on, and not just junk like last time."

"Buy tons of meat, Sanji! At least six different kinds," Luffy said.

"This is exactly what I meant," Nami said under her breath, "Luffy, we don't need that much." she began to drag him away by the ear, but it only stretched.

"Okay, eight kinds then," Luffy said, attempting to stand his ground.

"That's more than six!" Zoro shouted.

"Ah, your numbers skills have improved in the last two years," Sanji joked.

"And your cooking skills haven't!" Zoro said, gripping his sword.

"I'm surprised you can even count the number of swords you use! Stupid marimo!"

"Do you want to keep the use of your hands you shitty cook?"

"Okay, then seven different kinds!" Luffy decided.

"Enough, all of you!" Nami hit each one of them, "Luffy, stop trying to count, Sanji, two kinds of meat, Zoro put your swords away."

Sanji departed with the bag of beri and the other three straw hats headed toward the next shop, which was naturally any clothing stands. They only needed a few other things anyways, surprisingly the ship didn't need any parts this time around and Chopper's list of medical supplies he needed was rather short, so Nami figured there would be enough left for all of that after she bought clothing and various accessories.

"Luffy, stay with me this time please," Nami said, "we don't need a repeat of last time."

"Right, " Luffy said.

"And Zoro, if you're going to go to a bar at least tell us before just..."

"Oi where'd Zoro go?"

"Wandering off..." Nami sighed.

"Hahaha, Zoro will be fine by himself!" Luffy said, "Besides, we need to go find the food stands. Maybe they have samples out."

"Luffy, we're shopping for clothes," Nami said flatly.

"What do I need clothes for? The ones I have are just fine," Luffy said, sticking a finger through a hole in his shirt. "See? I can't even fit my hand through here yet. "

"Fine, then I'll just shop for myself and Robin," Nami said, a little disappointed that Luffy wouldn't let her pick out something new for him to wear. "But you still have to stay with me, we can't afford to get into trouble this time."

"Everything turned out it fine last time," Luffy muttered. "We even got a party."

"What was that, Luffy?"

"Nothing, nothing!"

SILVER HILL FACTORY DISTRICT

Zoro had been wandering around for some time now. He wasn't sure where Nami and Luffy had gone, but he didn't care because he was on a more important mission. The mission of which the conclusion involved himself, at least 23 bottles of booze, and a cold floor.

"There has to be a tavern around here somewhere," Zoro said. "Every island has a tavern."

Every building that Zoro seemed to pass were large with smokestacks and wide windows and the word "Factory" on a sign hanging above the doors.

_Well one of these factories has to produce booze... I better just check them all..._ Zoro thought to himself, entering the first building on his right.

There were large overhead lights hanging from the ceiling, but they were all off and most of them were busted. Glass from the lights crunched beneath Zoro's boots as he cautiously stepped inside, ready to draw his sword. The inside of the factory was dark, the only light coming in from the tinted windows and the place smelled of sweat and blood. Zoro decided that this wasn't likely to be the factory he was looking for and turned to leave until he heard a muffled scream coming from further inside.

Zoro sighed. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he didn't at least investigate. He moved further into the factory, passing broken machinery and tools that were left laying about. As he walked farther down the rows he began to see a faint glow coming from a room in the back. Zoro peered around the corner and saw two figures standing outside what looked like like a row of jail cells.

He waited in the shadows until they left. No point in causing a scene this early. Zoro stepped out once they'd moved on and began to walk past the row of cells. Zoro wasn't easily shocked but what he saw made him sick. Each of the cells contained several women in chains. All of them were caked in blood and dirt and the majority of them wore nothing but rags. As he passed by to the cell the men had been standing at, all of the women looked up at him, but remained silent.

When Zoro reached the cell he looked down and jumped back when he saw a familiar face looking back at him.

Tashigi pushed her glasses up, brushing away a mix of blood and dirt from her nose, "You...what the hell are you doing here?!"

SILVER HILL SHOPPING DISTRICT

"Okay, Luffy, we're pretty much done here. All we have left is the supplies Chopper needs." Nami said, handing Luffy a bag five times his size. "Also, I bought you new clothes anyway."

"Finally," Luffy complained, "this island is so boring!"

"For once, I am absolutely okay with that, this place seems safe enough," Nami smiled back at him. "No wild animals, no Marines, no insane Fishmen, no one at all trying to kill..." Nami was still looking back at Luffy when she bumped into something rock solid and at least twice her height. She looked up and saw it was a middle aged, bald man with several facial scars and a silver beard that was shaved to look like the wings of a bird. "...us..."

"Well won't you make a nice addition..." The man had a husk voice.

Nami quickly backed away behind Luffy and peeked over his shoulder, "Do you have any idea who this man is?!"

"I do," said the bearded man. "Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat pirates. Bounty of 400 million."

"Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"My name is Silver Hawk, head of the Silver Hawk pirate hunters, and guest of Titan King. As a pirate, you are trespassing on the king's land. For both offenses I sentence you to death." Silver Hawk drew a large bastard sword from behind his back and it began to emit a strange glow. All of the people in the shopping district that were acting seemingly normal before immediately ran in fear when Silver Hawk drew his sword, as if they knew what was coming next.

"What did he mean by nice addition?" Nami whispered over Luffy's shoulder.

"Who cares? He won't hurt either of us," Luffy assured. Luffy really wasn't that sure though. This Silver Hawk was emitting a large amount of energy without even exerting himself. He had to be fairly powerful, but he couldn't tell Nami that. "Stay back, Nami, just in case."

"Right, I'll leave it to you," she said, backing a good distance away.

"Alright, no - hair, I'm ready when you are. "

"You came to the wrong island, Monkey D. Luffy."

SILVER HILL RESTAURANT DISTRICT, A TAVERN

"Bartender, I'll take your largest ale!" Phoenix said.

Before the bartender could pour the drink Kanah interrupted, "He'll take a juice."

"Juice was my first option," Phoenix said, "I'll take your largest juice."

The bartender placed the drinks in front of three of them, who were the only people at the bar. It was curious, because the restaurant was on the outskirts of the district, he seldom had customers.

"What brings you this far out?" he asked, beginning to clean glasses and engage in other bartenderly activities.

"Information," Phoenix took took a large gulp of his drink and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Every other place we've been, everyone runs away when we ask our questions."

"Well ask away," the bartender laughed loudly, "there's no one here to run and I'm sure not leaving my tavern unattended!"

Phoenix, Kanah, and Robin all looked at each other. "Is Titan King on this island?" Robin asked.

"Well I can see why they ran," the bartender said quietly. "Titan King isn't exactly well liked. Neither are his lackeys, the Silver Hawk pirate hunters, who reside here."

"Pirate hunters? That's no good for us," Robin said.

"To answer your question, no, Titan King is not on this island. In fact, he just left two weeks ago. Every few months, King makes rounds of the islands and right now he's headed back to the last one in the chain that he has claimed."

"Meaning it will be a while before he makes it back here," Phoenix said. " Looks like we'll have to go to him."

"Why are pirates like you looking for King?" the bartender asked.

"Pirates? No, Kanah and I are Revolutionaries. Robin here is a member of the Straw Hat pirates," Phoenix smiled.

"You really shouldn't just reveal information like that," Kanah sighed.

"Right, then we're merchants,"

"It's too late..."

"Fishermen?"

The bartender let out a booming laugh, "You guys are alright by me! Your identities are safe."

"Thank you Mr. Bartender, sir, " Kanah said.

"King has made this island a terrible place hasn't he?" Phoenix said. "Don't worry, things will be changing soon enough."

"That's all I need to hear. What I assume you're planning is no easy task, nor would I talk about it outside this tavern, but I wish you luck all the same."

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

"Tashigi isn't back yet," Smoker put out his cigars and lit a couple more. " Damn woman. We're going out to look for her."


	4. Silver Hawk

**So, here's chapter IV. Hopefully you guys that pop in to read it enjoy it. Haven't gotten any reviews yet, positive or negative, so apparently there's like a neutral feeling going around, which is good enough for me. Regardless, thanks for reading. I should mention that Gin Deshi, I'm fairly sure, translates to "Silver Disciples"  
**

**-TGA**

SILVER HILL SHOPPING DISTRICT

Silver Hawk's gleaming blade began to descend on Luffy's head but before it could hit it's mark Luffy dropped the bag of clothes and held up both arms, which had a black sheen from his Haki, to defend himself. When the blade met his arms, Luffy skidded backwards from the force.

"Armament hardening," Luffy readied his attack. "Gum Gum Pistol!"

Silver Hawk made to block with his sword but Luffy's fist knocked it away. Silver Hawk was sent backwards toward a building, but was gone in a flash. To everyone else he'd disappeared, but Luffy was able to sense him, although barely. When he appeared behind Luffy, he was almost too late to dodge the vertical slash of Silver Hawk's sword, which left a gleaming sliver trail behind it. He swung at Luffy again and this time Luffy stretched his body in an arc to avoid it.

Luffy whipped his leg around to kick Silver Hawk in the face but he blocked it with the flat side of his blade. "Nami, don't stay here, go find Zoro!"

Nami didn't want to leave him by himself, but she also knew she couldn't do anything to help. When she turned to leave she found. Three men standing in front of her, one of them with a large burlap sack. Nami took out her Clima Tact, but one of the men knocked it out of her hands with a Bo Staff.

"You won't be needing that," the man with the staff said.

"She's a pretty one. With the tits on her; she'll fetch a nice price," the man with the sack closed in on her.

Luffy looked back to Nami who was being forced into the burlap sack, "Nami! Shit, who the hell are these guys!?"

"These three are members of the Gin Deshi, my best pirate hunters," Silver Hawk said, leaping into the air. "Don't turn your back on your opponent!"

Luffy ignored him and began to run to Nami. Before he could reach her, Silver Hawk descended on him from above, his sword pointing toward the ground and shouted "I am your opponent!"

Luffy rolled out of the way and the sword struck the ground, leaving a crater in the ground a few feet deep. By the time Luffy recovered, the three men and Nami were already out of sight. "Shit! I let them get away," Luffy said. "Fine then, I'm gonna kick your ass, then I'm gonna go kick theirs!"

"Your plan is flawed, " Silver Hawk pulled his sword from the ground.

"How so?" Luffy asked.

"You forgot to add in the part where I kill you before you get to leave here."

"Yeah right," Luffy said. Steam began to seep from his body. "Gear Second."

"Oh? Are you stronger now?"

"Tons."

FACTORY DISTRICT

"You!" Zoro shouted. "You're that damn Marine woman!"

Tashigi tried to stand but couldn't. Whoever had captured her had drugged and the effects had yet to fully wear off. Though she was lightheaded, she was still able to speak coherently, albeit slowly. "My name is Tashigi, how could you even forget? Roronoa, I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for a tavern," he said plainly.

"How did you end up here?"

"The others got lost," Zoro said. He drew one of his swords, "I suppose I should help you. I just can't leave you here. It'd be bad luck." He sighed, making ready to cut down the bars of the cell.

"I don't need your help, Roronoa!" Tashigi shouted.

"Okay then," Zoro muttered and turned to leave. "Bye." He began to walk back down the row of cells until Tashigi shouted for him to stop. He smiled to himself and turned on his heel, cutting through all of the bars of each cell in one sweep. They fell to the ground with a simultaneous clank and all of the girls in the cells backed into the corner.

"They'll be coming back since I'm sure they'll heard it," he said to the girls. "Now is your chance to escape, you likely won't get another." They all stayed put. "Suit yourselves." Zoro walked back over to Tashigi's cell.

"We have to find my sword before we go," she said, trying to stand again, but failing.

"I guess I'll have to carry you as well. We'll have to find your clothes along the way too," Zoro said, going to pick her up.

Tashigi was a modest woman. She was easily embarrassed and always made it a point to cover up. Having been drugged, she hadn't noticed that her captures had stripped her entirely naked and had not brought her yet the rags the other women were wearing. She felt herself turn red and immediately covered herself with her hands. "Don't you dare touch me!"

Zoro sighed, taking off his dark-green coat, "Geez calm down. Here you can wear this for now." He put his coat over Tashigi and she wrapped herself up in it. Zoro then picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "How do we get out of here?" he asked.

"I don't know! I wasn't conscious when I was brought here! Try the same way you came in!"

"Too late for that," Zoro said. The path ahead was now blocked by several men. "Looks like I'll have to cut my way out."

Zoro charged forward, Tashigi on his shoulder and one sword drawn, and began to clash swords with the enemies ahead of him. He cut through them easily, not even breaking a sweat as he knocked their swords out of the way and sliced open their chests and stomachs. Zoro and Tashigi emerged from the crowd of men, covered in blood. Zoro kicked off a string of intestines that was wrapped around his foot.

"Roronoa, stop! One of them dropped my sword!" Tashigi pointed to a katana on the ground. Zoro kicked it up with his foot and caught it in his mouth.

Zoro ran through several empty halls for a while before stopping. "This is pointless, there's no way out."

"How do you not remember the way?"

"Not now," Zoro said. "I have a solution." Zoro readied his sword, " 36 Caliber Phoenix!" Zoro swung his sword and the wall of the building burst outward and rubble came falling down. "Now we have a way out," Zoro stepped over the remainder of the wall and took a deep breath. "Now where?"

"What makes you think I know!?" Tashigi shouted. She lifted her head up and gasped. All of the women that had remained in their cages when they'd left were now in a group behind them.

"They've been following a bit behind us for quite a while," Zoro said.

Tashigi let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God. I was worried they'd stay and get caught again.

"We can't take these women with us," Zoro said, sheathing his sword and putting Tashigi's in his sash.

"Take me to my ship," Tashigi said. "Smoker and I will deal with the slaves."

Zoro ran ahead, the women following behind him.

"The other way," Tashigi said.

SHOPPING DISTRICT (SANJI)

Sanji was carrying several bags back to the ship when he heard a far off explosion. It wasn't his problem though, he had to get all of the food back to the ship. He decided not to meet up with Luffy and the others beforehand. He hoped Nami wouldn't be too worried about him.

Before long he heard a woman shouting. Now it was it duty as a man to investigate. He couldn't just leave a damsel in distress, when a gallant knight such as himself was nearby to come to her rescue. It took him a second to recognize who it was, but he nearly dropped everything when he realized it. It was Zoro carrying a woman over his shoulder. Not far behind him was a crowd of half naked women. He was struck first by envy. Why did such things never happen to him? Zoro didn't even care about women in a way such as him. He was then struck by intense anger. _Why did these things never happen to him?_

"I can walk now! Put me down!" he heard the woman shout.

"It's faster this way!" he heard Zoro say. "These other women can barely keep up!"

Zoro ran past Sanji saying, "Oh, it's you, Pirate A."

"You bastard!" Sanji shouted, running next to him. "What are you doing with his woman? She asked to be unhanded!"

"She couldn't walk," Zoro said.

"I can walk now!" Tashigi kicked her legs. Sanji looked back and saw that the woman Zoro was carrying was none other than Tashigi, the Marine woman they'd once met.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Sanji yelled. "Who are all these women?!"

"Shut up!" Zoro said. "Either come with us or leave!"

"Left here!" Tashigi directed. "We're almost to the port!"

SHOPPING DISTRICT (LUFFY)

"Gum Gum Jet Pistol!" Luffy's arm shot out at Silver Hawk, who swatted it away with the flat side of his sword. He ran next to Luffy's arm as it retracted back to him and when he reached Luffy he hit him square in the jaw with the hilt of his sword. Luffy was knocked back and spit out blood, but recovered quick enough to land a gut shot on Silver Hawk, who was launched back into the wall of a nearby building.

"Gum Gum Jet Gatling!" Luffy's fists launched out in a flurry toward Silver Hawk. The wall of the building crumbled under Luffy's continuous attack and Silver Hawk shot backwards into the next wall of the house, which was subsequently destroyed as well. When Luffy decided his attack had had the desired effect, he stopped and saw Silver Hawk on the ground, covered in blood and rubble.

Luffy stepped over the destroyed wall and headed over to Silver Hawk, who was standing up and brushing the pieces of the house from his coat. "You dishonor me," Silver Hawk said with a gruff laugh. "Not even attacking at full strength, like I'm some sort of weakling."

"No, it's this attack that I'm gonna finish you with," Luffy bit his thumb and his arm became gigantic. "Armament Hardening, Elephant Rifle!" Luffy's massive fist launched at Silver Hawk who imbued his bastard sword with his own Haki, and put it in front of him defensively. When Luffy's fist and Silver Hawk's sword met, a burst of energy shot out around them and shattered glass and and shook buildings. After a brief power struggle, in which Silver Hawk was pushed back, he used all his strength to knock Luffy's fist away and sent it into the next house over, which Luffy's arm destroyed when it swiped through it.

"Oh? What's going on here?" Smoker took a puff from his cigars as he stepped between Luffy and Silver Hawk. "I thought you stronger than this, Straw Hat."

Luffy raised the brim of his hat and looked up at who he recognized as none other than Vice-Admiral Smoker. "Oi, Smokey! What are you doing here?!"

"I should ask you the same thing," Smoker replied.

"I don't mean to break up this reunion," Silver Hawk readied his sword, "but I have a bounty to collect on. Don't interfere, Marine."

"Is that so?" Smoker said, he turned to look at Silver Hawk, then back at Luffy, who was no longer there, but on top of a building a few houses down.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" both Smoker and Silver Hawk screamed after him.

"I don't usually run from a fight...but Nami could still be in danger. She hasn't come back yet so I'm getting worried. I'll just let you take care of this guy, Smokey! Thanks in advance!" Luffy stretched his arms out toward the next building and shot himself toward it.

"So, are you going to get in my way?" Silver Hawk asked.

Smoker killed off his cigars and put them out. "Straw Hat...is mine to bring in. If you fight me, pirate hunter, you'll be going against the Marines and the World Government."

"I've taken that into consideration," Silver Hawk said in his husk voice, "and realized that I'l be okay."

"Oh? How do you figure?"

"No one will be here to see you die."


	5. Obstacles

**Relatively short chapter here, but it's been a while so at least its something. Chapter six is under revision and hopefully will be posted soon. Thanks again for reading! **

SILVER HILL - THE PORT

"Okay, Roronoa, stop," Tashigi said and Zoro put her down. She pushed up her glasses, "Thank you for your assistance."

"Marines shouldn't thank pirates," Zoro said.

"Of course, Tashigi-chan!" Sanji said from behind him.

"Right."

"Though I did save you, so at least tell me this. Why are you on this island?" Zoro handed her back her sword.

The Marines of G-5 piled off their ship, their weapons drawn when they saw their Captain between two well known pirates. "Marines, stop your advance!" Tashigi commanded.

"But Captain-chan! These are pirates you're with!" One of them said.

"I'm aware, but these pirates saved me! So I'll tell you once more to wait! In the mean time, get these women on the ship!" Tashigi turned back toward Zoro and Sanji. "I'm here because of what you saw in that factory, Zoro. The owner of this island, Titan King, along with the Silver Hawk pirate hunters, were suspected of being involved in the slave trade. Now I'm sure of it. I was doing recon when I was captured by three men and forced into a burlap sack. When we got to the factory they drugged me and tossed me into a cell. "

"Strange," Zoro said, resting his arm on his swords, "we're after the same man."

"Oi, marimo, don't just tell people these things." Sanji said.

Tashigi took a step back in surprise. "You?! Why are you Straw Hats after Titan King?!"

"To be honest, I'm still not sure. Our Captain decided to help someone take him down, so that's what we're doing," Sanji said, taking hits of his cigarette.

"Regardless," Zoro's interest was piqued, "why are Marines going after a member of the World Government? Why interfere?"

"Besides that he's a terrible person? We have reason to suspect that Titan King is in league with the pirate..." Tashigi caught herself before she revealed a key detail of their mission. "Shit! I can't say anymore. Such things are classified!"

"Whatever," Zoro waved it off, "we have to go find our Captain and the rest of our crew."

"Um...your coat, Roronoa..." Tashigi said, turning slightly red.

"Unless you're going to take it off here, you can give it back to me later." Zoro turned to leave, but not before pulling Sanji away from Tashigi, as he was trying to give her a personal Den Den Mushi to call him on.

"Oi, Captain-chan!" One of the Marines shouted from the deck of the ship. " Vice Admiral Smoker and the others haven't returned yet!"

"What the hell do you mean?!"

"They went out to look for you when you didn't come back for a day!"

"Damn it!" Tashigi faced Zoro and Sanji. "I have to ask you one more favor." Ugh this is so unbecoming of me, but what choice do I have? "Help me find Smoker and my men. They can't fight Silver Hawk and the guys that kidnapped me, plus all the other pirate hunters."

"Of course we will!" Sanji spun in circles around Tashigi.

"I suppose it can't be helped," Zoro sighed. "As long as you don't try to fight us."

"Just as long as you know that we're going to be enemies again after this is over," Tashigi said seriously.

"Of course."

FACTORY DISTRICT

Luffy put his hat back so it rested around his neck and took a look around from a high up building. "I know I sensed her somewhere around here." He launched himself toward the next building and wrapped himself around a smokestack. He looked down and saw the three men that took Nami waking through a giant hole in the wall of the building they were in front of.

"Finally," Luffy said, jumping down from the smokestack. He ran full speed towards the building and leapt through the hole.

"There's someone behind us," the man with the Bo Staff said.

His warning did no good when Luffy came rushing through, tackling the man holding the burlap sack. Nami shouted from inside as Luffy, the man, and the sack she was in hit the wall.

"Take her, we'll occupy him," said the third man, finally speaking. He had an orange beanie cap and he wore a mask that covered his mouth and nose that had the face of a skeleton on it.

The man that had been carrying Nami picked the sack back up and ran down the hall. Luffy tried to run after him but the man with the Bo Staff swung upward and hit him in the stomach, knocking Luffy into the ceiling. Luffy hit the ground with a smack and the masked man stepped on his back.

"Stay, dog," he said.

Luffy stretched out his leg and kicked the man in the back, throwing him off balance. Luffy jumped up and back handed the man with the Bo Staff who spit out a tooth after.

"I don't have time for you guys!" Luffy ran down the hall after the man that had Nami.

The Pirate hunter with the Bo Staff swung out horizontally and unleashed a gust of wind at Luffy that flew into him and cut his back. He'd noticed it coming but was too focused on rescuing Nami that he didn't bother dodging. The attack didn't slow him down at all. What did slow him down was when he was running down the hall and the masked pirate hunter appeared above him, hanging upside down. Luffy stretched and curved his body around to avoid him but he just appeared ahead of him again. Luffy kicked his leg up at him to hit him on the top of his head but when he did he was gone and his leg just went straight through the ceiling.

This continued until Luffy realized that the man had lead him right back to the big hole in the wall that he'd come in from. This time the man with the Bo Staff wasn't there. Instead, there stood Zoro, Sanji, and a woman that he vaguely recognized but couldn't place her name.

"Oi, Zoro, Sanji! Take care of this guy for me! I have to get Nami!" Luffy shouted as he ran past.

"What's he on about now?" Zoro sighed, drawing one of his swords.

"Nami-chan is in trouble?!" Sanji's brows nearly uncurled in anger.

"Calm down, Mr. Nosebleed. The captain said to stay here. He can handle whatever he's doing by himself."

"Fine then," Sanji lit a cigarette. "We'll kick this masked guy's ass then I'm going to save my dear Nami."

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

THOUSAND SUNNY

"Geez, you'd think they'd be back by now," Usopp looked down the sight of his slingshot and fired into a far away rock.

"I'm SUPER annoyed," Franky stretched his arms.

"My bones are getting restless," Brook played a few notes on his violin.

"Allow me to alleviate your boredom," said a man from atop the ship's crow's nest. He was very slender and taller than Brook.

"Who the hell are you?" Usopp aimed up at the man.

"My name is Ozen, I am a member of the Silver Hawk pirate hunters."

"You revealed that really willingly," Usopp said.

"It doesn't matter what I tell you, because I'm going to kill you,"


	6. Always

**So it's been a bit, I know, I know. Sorry loyal readers. But alas, with the semester of school coming to a close and numerous other projects I'm taking on (including creating a universe for a novel I'm working on and authoring a story for a video game my friend is working on - both super time consuming but fun) I've been quite busy as of late. Hopefully with summer I'll also have more time to dedicate to fanfiction, this story and a possible other I'm working on (but won't post until I've fleshed it out more and posted more of this one). So stay vigilant for my updates, because I WILL continue to update this, as frequently as I can write it and have it edited. On the note of editing, this chapter was not edited by the person I have reading it. LOL. Enjoy. **

-**TGA**

SILVER HILL - RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

Phoenix, Kanah, and Robin opted to take the longer route back to the ship by going through the residential district. It was there they saw Vice Admiral Smoker lying on his back in a pile of broken wood and bricks. Though it was Robin and Phoenix's first thought to avoid him, Kanah was already running to his aid.

Smoker was bruised and badly cut in several places, including one large gash that cut deep through the muscle in his chest. He was fading fast, but was immediately able to recognize Nico Robin and the man he knew to be Hunter Phoenix.

"Looks like you caught me vulnerable," he choked.

"Hold still, sir," Kanah said.

"Smoker, what are you doing here?" Robin asked.

"It's strange, I never thought you Straw Hats would be the death of me."

"You won't die, sir, just hold still," Kanah placed her hands on Smoker's chest.

"Best listen to her," Phoenix said, then turned to Robin, "And we best duck. You'll see why in a second."

Kanah's hands began to glow a reddish - pink color and the air swirled around her. She closed her eyes and began to focus. Smoker's muscle tissue began to regrow and his wounds began to seal as if he'd never had them.

"Move!" Phoenix shouted to Smoker, who stood up and ran to where Robin and Phoenix were in cover.

Kanah's entire body began to glow the same color as her hands and she started to shake uncontrollably, here eyes rolling into the back of her head. She stood up and her body began to release bursts of energy in every direction, leaving her in a crater in the ground and destroying several nearby houses. Luckily for the townsfolk, they'd cleared out when Smoker and Silver Hawk had began their fight.

Kanah collapsed where she stood and Phoenix ran to her, sliding down into the crater. She was unconscious, but alive. Phoenix picked her up and turned to Robin and Smoker.

"So? Are you going to stop us from leaving?" Phoenix leapt out of the crater and landed in front of them.

"Not this time," Smoker said.

THOUSAND SUNNY

"Are you prepared for the slaughter?" Ozen drew a sword sporting a blade as long as his body.

"This is SUPER not cool!" Franky armed his weapons.

"No, Franky! We need to bring this fight away from the Sunny! We don't want to damage the ship!" Chopper warned.

"Shit! You're right!"

"I've got an idea," Usopp shot down a smokescreen and told the rest of the crew to leave the ship while Ozen couldn't see. Once the smoke cleared, the four had made it to shore but Ozen was no where to be seen.

"Here," he said from behind. Ozen lashed out with his blade and cut each of them across the back, lightly as just to show his presence, not aiming to kill.

"Shit!" Usopp spun around on the spot and pulled back his slingshot. "Fire bird star!"

A brilliant fire erupted from the slingshot and made it's way toward Ozen. Rather than moving he held his sword in front of himself horizontally, placing one foot forward and beginning to rapidly spin in place. When the fire reached him it wrapped itself around his spinning form and became a whirlwind of fire that began to spin toward Usopp and the others.

Each of them rolled out of the way of the whirling flame and made it far enough away until Ozen finally slowed down and extinguished. He stood still for a moment, obviously in a daze as he tried to regain his footing after spinning rapidly. Franky took the opportunity to take aim at Ozen. "Franky Radical Beam!"

Ozen turned just in time to see the beam headed his way and twisted himself at the waist, placed a foot forward and began to spin at an extreme speed again. The beam reflected off of Ozen and shot out in every direction, forcing the Straw Hats to duck under it. Ozen spun dizzily in place again, losing his balance and falling over.

"This Devil Fruit ability is more complicated than I had figured," Ozen sighed to himself. "Can't keep using it if I'm gonna fall each time."

Usopp and the others looked on at Ozen sitting on the ground. "He's over there talking to himself."

"How strange," Chopper observed, "maybe he's tired?"

"We can't beat him if he keeps spinning," Brook supplied.

"Then we stop him from spinning," Usopp began to dig through his pouch. "I have an idea."

Usopp placed a round, green ball in his slingshot and pulled it back, aiming directly at Ozen, who was just beginning to stand up. "Green Star: Devil!"

Usopp unleashed the shot and it soared toward Ozen, striking the ground at his feet. A large venus fly trap erupted from the ground, it's vines working their way up his legs. Ozen began to try and pull his legs from the grip of the vines, to spin his body rapidly, cutting around him with his sword, but to no avail. The mouth of the venus fly trap descended upon him, slow and almost dramatically as it enveloped Ozen entirely. Everything was quiet for a moment until several gashes appeared in the venus fly traps mouth, splitting open and hanging down like strips of flesh. Ozen's feet were still stuck firmly within the vines of the fly trap, though he had made some progress now in moving as he cut the vines around him, shuffled forward, only to be ensnared by more vines.

Brook took this opportunity to attack. Running swiftly across the vines, Brook came at Ozen swiftly from several different angles, drawing his sword and attempting to strike him. Ozen was able to block them with his sword, until one of the vines of the fly trap sprung up and pulled his wrist down, resulting in Brook making a clean, deep cut across his shoulder. Brook came at him again, this time from directly in front of him, passing him by almost gracefully, Ozen didn't even see him draw his sword and sheath it. Nor did he realize his side was in excruciating pain, until his hand clasped against it and coated it in thick blood.

The vines were beginning to trail away now, but Ozen realized he'd taken to much damage to spin again. Even if he did so, he'd just loose blood faster. The four present members of the Straw Hat crew surrounded him. He thought his death was imminent, now being unable to fight back. Chopper proved him wrong when he pulled out supplies to close the wound. Ozen was fading quickly and his eyes closed.

"Why are we even helping him?" Franky asked, "He tried to kill us."

"I'm a doctor, I have to help him, he'll die otherwise."

"Well we sure as hell aren't taking him on the ship," Usopp said, looking at the others for confirmation.

"Then we'll tie him up and wait for the others. They'll know what to do. I'll administer a painkiller until then, so he doesn't try to spin away." Chopper said, applying gauze to the newly stitched wound on Ozen's side. Ozen briefly opened his eyes and closed them again.

"Spinning. What a stupid Devil Fruit ability."

Was the last thing Ozen heard before passing out a second time.

FACTORY DISTRICT - ZORO & SANJI

No faster did Luffy disappear down the dark corridor did the man in the skull mask that was following him appear. He didn't speak or make to attack Zoro, Sanji, or Tashigi. His eyes just pierced through them. He didn't break eye contact as he sat down on the ground in the rubble of the broken wall.

"What should we do?" Tashigi whispered to Zoro.

"I dunno, walk past him?"

"I can not let you pass," the man said from his seat on the ground. "Though of course you may try."

"What are you pretending to be some sort of guardian or something?" Sanji asked.

The man smiled under his mask, though no one could see. "Something like that."

"You've got no weapons on you," Zoro mused. "You can't fight against swords with your hands."

"No," he said simply. "Not with my own hands anyways."

"Make some damn sense!" Sanji shouted.

"A man's resolve to do something should be hard as stone. Unbreakable and unmoving."

Zoro drew his swords. "Stone is no obstacle for me."

"No I suppose it's not, Roronoa Zoro."

Zoro lunged forward with what he thought to be unmatched speed, and closed the gap between himself and the man in the skull mask before Tashigi's eyes could catch up. Zoro's swords became embedded in a stone pillar that appeared from the ground in front of his quarry. He forced the blades the rest of the way through and the pillar shattered and sank back into the earth at his feet.

"If you've got more," Zoro said, readying his swords again, "I can cut through that too."

"You're too sure of yourself," the man said, still sitting. "It could prove to be dangerous against an opponent such as myself, who won't have to move from this spot to bring about your defeat."

Several sharp and jagged stones formed up from the ground in front of Zoro and he began to make backwards strides as he cut each of them down, only to have more take their place. As they reached Sanji and Tashigi, Sanji grabbed her in his arms and leapt into the air out of harms way. Or so they thought. The stones followed them up into the air, nearly catching Sanji as he kicked his feet to gain continuous momentum. He spun about and knocked apart the closest ones with his leg. Sanji landed on top of one of the factory buildings, but was still not safe as the pillars of earth smashed through the stone of the building. He backed far enough away to where the pillars couldn't reach him. Shortly after, they retracted into the ground.

At the same time, Zoro made his way back towards the man, who had protected himself with a field of pillars that replenished themselves as soon as Zoro cut them back down. He was fast enough to be able to dodge them as they came up from the ground, and easy enough to cut down, but the shear amount of them made it impossible to make any progress. He hadn't lied, Zoro thought. He had yet to move from his spot on the ground. He had spent the time sitting here, running his hands across the dirt.

Now that Sanji was far enough away, he focused his attention on Zoro. The amount of time spent cutting through his pillars would eventually tire him out, but this was no way to fight a battle. Zoro finally stopped cutting away at the pillars. "Santoryu: Dragon Twister!" All of the pillars around Zoro and the pirate hunter were obliterated immediately. As the dust from the pillars cleared, a large shield that came up from the ground, thicker than the pillars was in front of the man, protecting him from the attack. It crumbled back into the ground.

"That's enough of this shit," Zoro pointed his sword at the seated pirate hunter. "You fight me for real."

"Fair enough," the pirate hunter raised his hand and placed the other to the ground. Moments later a large fist emerged from the earth, shortly followed by another as a large golem made of the earth pulled itself from the ground. "Perhaps this will suffice."

FACTORY DISTRICT - LUFFY

Luffy burst through what was now the fourth door in the long corridor. Empty as well. He continued running on. The fifth door. Empty. Next he heard a scream. Luffy hung a left around the next bend and smashed through the first door on the right. Nami was on a table, dressed in rags and bound to the table. The man that had taken her stood above her, removing a needle from her neck.

"You? What the hell are you doing he-" Luffy's fist reached the man's face before he could even finish. Luffy struck him several more times, smashing him into the wall. The pirate hunter moved to grab a mace on his hip but Luffy sent out a flurry of punches that made contact all over his body, sending him slumping over onto the ground.

Luffy ran to Nami's side and undid the bindings on her wrists and ankles. He lifted her and held her cradled in his arms. She was feverish and barely coherent. Luffy began walking back down the corridor and has he made it further to the hole in the wall where he left Zoro and Sanji, he could hear the distinct sound of fighting.

Nami began to stir, and Luffy looked down on her. She opened her eyes but couldn't recognize where she was. She only saw Luffy. "Luffy..."

"Nami, don't talk, just wait until we get to the ship. Chopper will be able to fix you up." He said softly.

"Luffy...you're always going to protect me, right?"

Luffy paused for a moment. Of course he'd do anything to protect any member of his crew. He'd gone through great lengths before to do so. He had a gut feeling she meant something entirely different.

He smile, unsure as to what else to say besides, "Always."


End file.
